Samsung Hits $1 Trillion Milestone as AI Demand Soars

Daniel Bach (0:00)

AI is changing the world.

SPEAKER_2 (0:02)

We're securing it.

SPEAKER_3 (0:03)

Crowd strike.

SPEAKER_2 (0:04)

We stop breaches.

Daniel Bach (0:08)

A journal investigation finds China is supplying Russia and Iran with drone factories, circumventing US sanctions.

Plus, Samsung joins the trillion-dollar club amid relentless demand for AI memory chips. And weight-loss drug giant Novo Nordisk surprises with strong sales, even as competition continues to weigh on growth.

SPEAKER_3 (0:28)

For now, we have to remember that the pill from Lilly is just launched, but they are off to a very strong start, and Lilly have to be on their toes to keep up.

Daniel Bach (0:38)

It's Wednesday, May 6th. I'm Daniel Bach for the Wall Street Journal filling in for Luke Vargas. And here is the AM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today.

President Trump has scored decisive victories in a handful of Indiana State Senate primaries and a sign his grip on the Republican Party base remains firm.

Ken Thomas (1:01)

President Trump had warned that a group of Indiana Republican state senators would face retribution for opposing his redistricting plan in the state. Tuesday's primaries showed that Trump largely made good on that threat.

Five of the seven Trump-backed Republican challengers won their primaries for state Senate.

Daniel Bach (1:21)

That's journal national political reporter Ken Thomas.

Ken Thomas (1:24)

Now, all of this stemmed from Trump's push last year for Indiana to conduct a mid-decade redistricting plan similar to those approved in Texas and North Carolina. But that ran into opposition from a group of Indiana state senators, which led to the president engineering primary challenges against the Republican incumbents.

In the short term, this is good news for the White House. Trump will still need to overcome slumping approval ratings and concerns from voters over inflation and rising gas prices. Those will be key to the November midterm elections, when Republicans won't have Trump on the ballot, but will be defending majorities in both the House and the Senate. But Tuesday's primaries show that despite these headwinds, Trump is still in command of his Republican base, and Republican lawmakers who oppose him run the risk of seeing an end to their political careers.

Daniel Bach (2:25)

At the same time in Ohio, stalwart Trump backer Vivek Ramaswamy advanced in the state's Republican primary for governor. He would face Democrat Amy Acton, a former Ohio health director. The state will also see a special election in November to fill the last two years of JD. Vance's term. Former Senator Sherrod Brown won the Democratic nomination yesterday and will face Republican Senator John Husted, who was appointed last year when Vance became vice president.

And while the White House may be focused on retaining the House and Senate in November's primaries, Marco Rubio's growing list of responsibilities has some starting to talk about 2028

Yesterday, the Secretary of State and National Security Advisor held court for almost an hour in the White House briefing room as a temporary stand-in for press secretary Caroline Levitt, who is now on maternity leave. According to some pundits, Rubio delivered a more direct explanation of the administration's goals in Iran after weeks of mixed messaging. He urged Tehran to negotiate with the US to end the war, and he did so by quoting IceCube.

SPEAKER_5 (3:28)

But look, the message to Iran, these guys are facing, they are facing real catastrophic destruction to their economy, generational destruction to their economy, generational destruction to the wealth of their country, imposed on themselves by the actions that they're taking. They should check themselves before they wreck themselves in the direction that they're going.

Daniel Bach (3:45)

We report that Trump has been polling advisors and friends in recent months on Rubio's political strengths compared with Vice President JD Vance, who has positioned himself to inherit the president's political movement. As Rubio spoke with reporters in Washington, Vance was on his way back from a GOP fundraiser in Des Moines, his first appearance in Iowa since becoming vice president. He didn't take questions from reporters, but his appearance has added fuel to speculation that he will run for president.

Meanwhile, President Trump has said the US would pause its operation to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Project Freedom, as it's being called, began on Monday, prompting Iran to fire at ships in the waterway and target energy facilities in the United Arab Emirates. Trump said, quote, great progress had been made toward a peace agreement with Tehran, though he also said that a preexisting effort to blockade Iranian ports will continue.

Coming up, Novo Nordisk tops analyst expectations of managing to deal with competition in the GLP-1 space. That story and more after the break.